Basic
by Medie Shanachie
Summary: A handful of pictures spark memories from a long time ago.


**Disclaimer:** *sigh* Nope I didn't win them in the lottery so only Jo belongs to me. And since we don't have a name for Colby's mom...I like Grace.

**Author's Note:** For the **savecolby **Memorial Day challenge...although I think I kinda screwed it up a little...but yeah this is what came out. The idea for the pictures got lost somewhere in translation. I have never been to basic, so that kinda came from movies and what I read on-line...my apologies for anything I messed up there. Hope ya like it. Written really fast cuz I promised **eaglesis40** that I wouldn't take forever with this one and I would make it short! See I did it!

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Colby groaned at the sight of an envelope taped to his front door. He was on the wrong end of a forty-eight hour shift and he really just wanted a shower and his bed; not necessarily even in that order. Assuming it was from his landlord, he ripped it off and started to stuff it into his pocket to deal with later. The weight of it changed his mind. Turning it over, he ran his finger under the flap as he finished unlocking the door. Nudging it open with his shoulder, he then kicked it shut as he spilled the contents into his hands.

Juggling the slippery pictures that had fallen out, he gathered them up and looked for a note. _Burn, I found these when I was cleaning out some boxes. Thought you might like copies._ There was no signature, but he recognized his sister's handwriting. Flipping through them quickly, he realized they weren't recent ones like he had expected, but random pictures from his childhood.

Most of them he couldn't place immediately, but a few he pulled out as memories flowed back. First days of school moved through the years; first by himself, then with Jo. He could remember climbing onto the bus and pushing Jo into a seat, then going to the back to sit with his friends. He was never truly unkind to her, but he realized now, he probably could have been a lot nicer about it. Then again, what twelve year old would have wanted to be burdened by a five year old. A later picture, one he realized was taken the first day of school after their father's death, reminded him that year, he had sat down beside her after pushing her into the seat. That year had been particularly rough. Jo had gone from understanding what had happened with their father, even though neither of them really did; but at least understanding that he was gone, to crying piteously for Daddy to return. To this day, Colby didn't know if his disappointment at his father came from that or from what he felt was his father taking what he felt was the easy way out.

Feeling the memories hitting his brain a little too hard after the case, he dropped the pictures on his end table and groaned as a few hit the floor. Scooping them up, he froze as he was thrown back in time.

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Colby sighed and pulled out the umpteenth million thing Jo had stuffed into his duffel. "Jo, stop adding things," he scolded gently.

She promptly put it back in. "But you might need it!"

He looked around the room and found the list he had been sent. "All right, look." Handing it to her, he pointed out the things he hadn't crossed off. "If I take anything not on this list, they're gonna throw it out. So why don't you see if you can find something on the list?"

"I've got paper!" she announced and scurried from the room, almost running their mother over.

Grace Granger smiled indulgently at Jo's retreating figure. "Everything okay, Colburn?" she asked.

"I'm fine, Ma," he answered, as he finished rolling his civilian clothes and tucked them into his bag. He looked around his room and all the things he was leaving behind. Rubbing the back of his neck, he tried to figure out what else he needed to pack. "Jo was just _helping_."

"I can send her to do her homework..." Grace offered.

"Thanks, Ma, but no. It's my last chance to spend time with her for a while," he said as the child in question ran back into the room, a bright pink notebook clutched in her hand. "Thanks, Jo." He took her offering and stuffed it in the bag, trying not to wince at the color. Grabbing his ditty bag, he added that and then finished by putting in the plastic bag with his stamps. "I think that's it."

"If you're packed, dinner's ready," Grace told them. "And since it's our last one as a family, it'd be nice if you both came down."

Colby nodded. "We'll be down in a few minutes." He turned to find Jo fiddling with the zipper on his bag. "Hey. You okay, Jo Bethy?" he asked, settling down beside her.

"You're really gonna leave?" she replied, sniffing a little.

"We talked about this. I asked you if you wanted me to stay home for a little longer and you said no."

She squared her shoulders and Colby could see her visibly steeling herself, trying to be more grown up. "I want you to go. You _need_ to go. Duty, honor, orders, pride," she recited. "I understand." She headbutted him gently. "But I'm gonna miss you."

Colby's throat tightened as she parroted the phrase they had both learned at their grandfather's knee. "Yeah, kiddo, I'm gonna miss you, too. But we can write. And Basic is only ten weeks, then I'll get to see you. I'm sure I'll even find time to call you during that time."

"I know. I'll be okay. And you'll be okay." She rapped him in his stomach, making him tighten his muscles out of habit. "You're not wasting all that running and pulling and pushing."

He put her in a headlock, knuckling the top of her head. "Ya do know the proper names for all that stuff."

"I know, but it's fun to harass you." She tried to tug out of his grip. "Burn, lemme go."

"Five by five?" he asked instead of releasing her.

"Five by five," she confirmed. "Ma wants us downstairs for dinner."

"Yeah, I know." He stood up, stretching and then grinned at her. "Piggy back?"

She rolled her eyes at him. "Don't you think I'm a little old for that?"

"Oh, come on. Old times sake."

"Yeah. I hope the Army cleans this wacky sense of childhood out of you," Jo responded as she reached up. "Cause I am _way_ too old for this, Burn."

Colby settled her on his back, admitting to himself that she might be right, but needing this one last connection with his little sister. "Hey, kiddo, do me a favor?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't grow up while I'm at Basic?"

"I don't think I'm gonna miraculously age seven years in ten weeks, Burn."

"You know what I mean, kiddo." He dropped her to the floor as they entered the dinning room, both of them ignoring the glare from their mother. "I just don't want to come home..."

She smiled at him. "Yeah. I know. Love ya, bro."

"I love ya, too, sis."

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Two days later, Colby found himself beside the other recruits at Fort Benning. Most of them had two or more bags, although a couple like him sported only a single gym bag. He wondered how many of those came from Army families. Shifting the weight on his shoulder, he ignored the pleading looks from around him. He knew better than to offer a hand to someone. It could only end badly.

A moment later, the drill sergeants began to bellow, "Line up! Line up! Line up! SHAKEDOWN!"

Colby found himself standing next to a scrawny blond boy who didn't look old enough to have entered the Army, much less look like he would survive basic. "What's shakedown?" he whispered out of the side of his mouth.

"They're gonna dump our bags and confiscate anything we're not supposed to have," Colby replied quietly. He looked sideways at the boy who only had one bag. "You should be okay."

"Dwayne Carter," the boy offered. "And when ya get kicked out with only the clothes on your back..." he trailed off.

"Colby Granger," Colby responded, then shut up as the sergeants began to circulate.

"Dump them!" came the order.

Colby upended his bag, watching out of the corner of his eye as Carter did the same. Clothes, toiletries, shoes, and notebooks tumbled to the ground. Shaking his bag once, he watched in horror as one last thing fell out. The pink notebook he could have handled; could have dealt with the teasing. The pens Jo had tucked in with the sparkles and the gel were easy enough to explain away, but this was not something he was prepared to deal with.

Before he could blink one of the drill sergeants was in his face. "What the hell is this, recruit? Did your mommy pack your duffel?" he demanded as he picked up the last thing that had fallen from Colby's bag.

"No, Drill Sergeant!" Colby barked back, keeping his eyes straight ahead.

The man waved the stuffed rabbit in his face. "Then what the hell is this?!"

"My kid sister's stuffed bunny, Drill Sergeant."

The man did a double take. "Your kid sister? You brought your kid sister's bunny to basic training for _my_ army?!"

"Not exactly, Drill Sergeant."

"Not? Not exactly? What do you mean _not exactly_? Not exactly had better have a damn good explanation or bunny is gonna take a really short trip, recruit."

Colby could see the other recruits fighting the urge to laugh; the ones that weren't getting berated by the other drill sergeants for their own proscribed items. Beside him, Carter's eyes were trying very hard not to bug completely out of his head as Colby didn't knuckle down under the in his face screaming. "My kid sister packed the bunny, Drill Sergeant. I didn't know it was there."

"Well, Mister 'I didn't know it was there', let's see what else you brought that shouldn't be here. Spread the gear!"

Colby leaned down and separated his belongings, praying that Jo hadn't snuck anything else when he wasn't looking. When he was finished, the drill sergeant picked through it, but was unable to find anything else on the proscribed list. "Well, well, well, recruit. Looks like it's your lucky day. Only bunny gets to take a trip." He handed Colby an envelope and a marker. "Address it and stuff it. Bunny's going home." Turning on his heel, he stalked to the next boy in line and began to pick through his belongings.

Colby looked around at the glares being aimed his way from getting off so easily and gave a silent sigh. It was going to be a long ten weeks.

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Colby shook himself out of the memories that the picture of Jo clutching Bugs at his Basic graduation had brought back and set it on the table. After he caught some sleep, he'd call her. He felt the need to touch base with his younger sister.


End file.
